Ghostly Gallows
by Danny Phantom SG-1
Summary: A fanfiction written for Devianta's birthday.  Tucker sets up Sam on a blind date, but one thing leads to another, and the night goes horribly awry.


**A/N: At last! It is complete. It took me forever to get this to sound even remotely okay. But here it is: Happy belated birthday, Devianta! I love ya! **

Ghostly Gallows

The phone rang monotonously in the backdrop of her thoughts as Sam sat, painting her toenails black. Normally, she wasn't the girly "painting nails" type, but she'd make an exception for this mellow day and for the color black.

Okay, now the ringing was just getting annoying. Who wouldn't have hung up after the fifteenth time? She irritably picked up the phone and grumbled, "Hello" into the receiver.

"Hey, Sam!" came the unnaturally giddy voice of Tucker Foley.

She rolled her eyes. Who else? "What do you want Tuck?" she asked, trying to position the phone in such a way that she could continue with her handiwork and talk at the same time.

"I just wanted to know…what are you doing Friday night?" he asked.

Her heart sank and her eyes grew wide. Dear Lord, please don't let this boy be asking her on a date. "Why…?" she responded cautiously.

"I have a little…thing…set up and I want to be sure you can make it."

She squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced. Oh boy. "What sort of thing?"

"I won't tell you until you tell me if you're free on Friday," Tucker retorted.

"Tucker," she said intensely into the phone, "you tell me what sort of 'thing' you want me to do this Friday and THEN I will decide if I'm free or not, got it?"

She could sense his gulp over the phone, "Alright, alright! Geez, lighten up. It's a…blind date, if you will."

…As long as it wasn't a blind date with him. "With whom?"

"Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be blind anymore, now, would it?" he asked haughtily. "It's not me, if you're wondering."

Thank the Lord. "Well…okay. I think I might be able to squeeze it in. As long as it's not someone I'll totally hate."

"Oh…I'm pretty sure you won't hate him," Tucker said, a hint of mischief in his voice.

Sam smiled in spite of herself. She could guess and spoil the fun, but the uncertainty of it (however slight it may have been) was too much of a thrill to ignore. "Alright, Tuck, but if he breaks my heart, you owe me ice cream."

"Deal," Tucker said. "And I only say that because I KNOW he would never break your heart."

Her grin widened. "Thanks, Tuck. I'll see you Friday, then."

"Friday. I'll pick you up around seven. See ya!"

"Bye," she said finally, putting down the phone and staring at her toes.

A blind date. With someone who would never break her heart. And someone who was friends with Tucker. Golly gee, she wondered who it was. She rolled her eyes at her own internal sarcasm and continued to stare blankly at her feet.

Perhaps a more compelling color would suffice for Friday. She stood up and scampered off to find the nail polish remover and a sleeker color. Black was not the most appealing and she wanted to impress this "mystery date" whose identity she was fairly certain she already knew.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Tucker and Sam, their telephones had been wired so that someone could listen in on their conversation. As soon as they hung up, the figure screamed in torment, understanding perfectly the underlying meaning of their talk. His despair and resentment brought on a new inspiration and obsession. Immediately, he began work on his newest creation.

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

It was a blustery day. She stood outside of her home and sighed. Her coat was billowing in the wind and she felt as though the wind would pick her up and fling her away, off into the sky. She glanced at her watch once again. It was 7:20. A few minutes late were typically expected of Tucker, but this was ridiculous.

Suddenly, her stomach clenched into a horrible knot. This weather seemed ominous and she felt slightly uneasy about everything at the moment. Today had that sort of feel to it, that feel that something was going to go awfully awry, but she had no other reason to believe that such was the case. She shrugged, closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down.

When she opened her eyes, she half expected to see Tucker waiting impatiently in front of her, but he wasn't there. She huffed and searched for his car. It was nowhere in sight. Hesitantly, she began walking down the street. Perhaps he had forgotten. She'd tried his cell phone, but had received no answer. His home phone was always busy, his parents usually chatting away about business and such. Surely if she walked up to his door and reminded him, he would immediately apologize and see to it that they got right on their way.

That was when a flash of intermingling colors of light caught her eye. She turned toward it and started scuttling in the direction of the struggle. Something felt wrong. Very wrong.

When she got within eyeshot, she gasped as she spotted Danny Phantom struggling to overcome the ghostly powers of a larger, but just as familiar, ghost, Vlad Plasmius. Vlad seemed to be holding a long rope that was glowing green, and he had some sort of translucent aura around him. She noticed that every blow Danny was throwing at the vampire-esque ghost was bouncing off of him lightly. She could see the frustration built up in Danny's expression as he continued to deal the futile blows. The ghosts continually crisscrossed throughout the sky, coming within a hair's breadth of each other. The tension and fear mingling in the air was felt all around.

"Sam!" Tucker yelled at her from somewhere off to her right.

"Tucker? Do you have the thermos?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, we've already tried it. Vlad's got some sort of shield around him or something. Nothing is working," Tucker said, out of breath.

Rapid movement in the sky caused their heads to turn to the dueling phantoms. They watched in horror as Vlad flung the rope at Danny and lassoed his neck. The ghost boy grabbed at his throat in desperation as he was wrenched in by Vlad's pull. He attempted to phase out of it, but the rope merely glowed an even brighter green and he gave a cry of pain.

Just then, the Fenton RV showed up, full of the Fenton family minus one. Sam briefly wondered how they had known about what was happening, but then realized that the flashing colors of green and pink in the sky were blatantly obvious by now. If she had still been standing on her porch, she would have no doubt seen the troubles occurring because Danny and Vlad were fighting more and more intensely, rising higher with every blow.

Maddie, Jazz, and Jack Fenton all rushed out of the RV and confronted Sam and Tucker.

"Where's Danny? Is he alright?" Maddie asked, panicked.

The two looked at each other briefly before Sam answered, "Uh…yeah. He's at Tucker's. He was going to call for help. These two ghosts look like they could cause some real damage."

Just then, they heard Danny give a loud yelp and everyone turned their eyes skyward. Despite the rope around his neck, Danny had been putting up quite the formidable defense against Vlad, but now, Plasmius had pulled out some sort of object resembling the "Plasmius Maximus." Indeed, it did send a piercing shock down the rope when he applied it and, subsequently, through Danny's body, causing the boy to shriek in agony. However, it did not have quite the same effect as before. Danny still remained in ghost mode, tuckered out as he may have been.

His moment of weakness gave Vlad the opportunity to reel him in. Once close enough, Vlad held the rope close to the knot which was located directly behind Danny's neck, so as to ensure more control. No matter if he kicked or screamed or fought or blasted, nothing would affect Vlad, now, because he couldn't reach him.

Jazz, Tucker, and Sam all stood watching in horror, but said nothing, keeping in mind that Danny's parents were still there. The kid always managed to get himself out of these sorts of messes. Surely this time wouldn't be an exception.

Surprising the teenagers, both Maddie and Jack pulled out large bazooka-like weapons and aimed them directly at the ghosts in the sky.

"Mom! What are you doing? You might hit Danny Phantom!" Jazz argued as carefully as possible.

Maddie rolled her eyes at her daughter, "Oh, Jazz, you need to get over his little façade. He is a ghost, not a hero."

Jazz opened her mouth to further defend her point, but a sickening cackle stopped her in her tracks and everyone looked up at the figure holding the small ghost boy at his mercy.

"She does have a point, Maddie. You may not want to shoot…" The larger ghost said cryptically.

Maddie eyed him suspiciously. Jack, meanwhile, was at her side, waiting for her order to fire.

"How…how do you know my name?" she asked warily.

The laughter became more maniacal and he pulled harder on the rope, causing the coarse material to chafe against the skin of Danny's neck. Danny's ability to float was the only thing keeping him from being hanged. He winced in pain as tears sprung into his eyes. He was helpless to interfere with his own fate.

The devilish ghost holding him there began to speak again.

"Why, Maddie, don't you know me? Can't you recognize me by my suave, debonair appearance? Or perhaps my sultry voice? Don't you remember me? The one you left behind…the one who lost you," he asked darkly.

Maddie stared only a moment longer before gasping and dropping her bazooka to the ground, holding her hand up to her mouth in shock.

"You-you can't be. You're a ghost," she murmured.

He chuckled, "Half ghost, my dear, half ghost. And it wasn't by my doing, I'll have you know. But by the one who stole you from me," he growled, eyes darting angrily to the man in orange next to her.

"Jack?" she asked, utterly confused. She looked to her husband, who returned her gaze perplexedly.

"What? I don't get it…" Jack said, honestly confused.

Vlad gave a loud bellow and aimed his next ecto-blast at Jack Fenton. His aim was true, being guided by some inner desire for revenge. The recipient of his anger was flung back hard against a brick building behind him. His body hit, causing his head to snap back and make contact with the wall with a sickening crack. His body slid slowly down to the ground, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"Dad!" Jazz yelled, watching her dead father slump over. She was torn between the desire to confirm her dreaded suspicions and her need to stay rooted in the spot, lest she get hurt as well.

Danny couldn't fight the strangled sob that tore from his throat at the sight of his father. There was no way this was happening. This could not be real. Tears streamed down his face, though his breath came in even more stifled gasps, as the rope was making it increasingly difficult to suck in air.

"JACK!" Maddie cried, falling to her knees in a haze. Nothing made sense anymore. The world was overwhelming her.

"Now you know what it feels like to lose love," Vlad mumbled down at Maddie.

It was then that he turned his attention to Danny.

"If I couldn't have my greatest love, then you shall never have yours," he said forebodingly.

Danny tried gasping, but nothing came of it but a raspy, tear-filled breath.

Suddenly, an enormous blast of energy crashed against the invisible shield around Vlad. The ghosts floating in the sky looked down to see Maddie aiming her weapon directly at Vlad, tears streaming down her face.

He smiled maliciously, "Sorry, my dear, but I came well-prepared this time. And you should be more careful with your aim, you may hit…Oh! I almost forgot. There is one last twist to this story, Sweetheart. You may be wondering what this ghost boy has to do with this whole situation."

Her face abruptly paled as she tried to brace herself for whatever revelation was about to be revealed to her.

"Look closely, Maddie…" Vlad started to explain.

As he spoke to Mrs. Fenton, Danny felt the need to look away from the hurt in his mother's eyes. He struggled to turn his head and found his eyes instinctively locking with Sam's. Horror was etched into her features. She and Tucker had been standing in shock-induced, stock-still silence for the past few minutes. But when their eyes locked, the world became real again and they each openly sobbed, not breaking contact.

'I'm sorry,' he mouthed to her, chocking as the rope constricted harder around his neck.

She sobbed and mouthed, 'It's not your fault.' Then, impulsively, she silently told him, 'I love you, Danny.'

A small smile found its way onto his face, as though what she had just mouthed to him was all he'd ever wanted in life. 'I love you, too.'

"…that Danny Phantom is your own son, Danny Fenton!" Vlad finished revealing to Maddie, causing her to finally completely break down. Jazz caught her mother as she sank to the ground in despair.

"And he's proving my suspicions as we speak," he said heatedly. "It isn't fair that you, a lowly half-ghost, should be able to attain that which you've always wanted while I am forced to live a cursed and terrible life."

He brought Danny's face closer to his and spat at him, "We will be even. I'm going to make sure of that."

He pulled out his electrocution device and drove it sharply into Danny's side. Eventually, the pain would cause him to revert to human form. Eventually, he would lose his ability to float. Eventually, he would drop like lead to the ground. Eventually, he would die.

But, just like Vlad said, they would be even.

Sparing one last pained look of apology and heartache to Sam, each conveying every regrettable emotion in that instant, Danny pulled out his handiwork. The rope had been long and Vlad had been holding and controlling only a small portion around Danny's neck. While he had been rambling, Danny had been furiously, yet discreetly, working on making a noose on the opposite end. He felt his head becoming light and his vision got fuzzy. And, though it was the most difficult task he had ever achieved, with the last bit of his strength, Danny flung the noose around Vlad's neck and tightened it. Terrified, Vlad immediately stopped his torture, but it was too late. Slowly, Phantom's head lulled back into unconsciousness as he turned into Fenton. Gravity took its toll and he began to fall from the impossible height, taking Vlad with him. The older ghost's eyes grew wide as the rope around his neck dragged him down. He attempted wildly to get it off, but Danny's long, hard work had paid off. It would not be removed.

Falling directly downward made the people on the ground realize with sickening dismay that the two ghosts had been farther away, horizontally, than it had seemed while they had been floating in the sky. Otherwise, they could have made a quick, makeshift landing pad and saved the life of their beloved Danny. But this was not the case.

Futilely, Sam began sprinting, with tears in her eyes, toward the falling figures. Tucker followed in hot pursuit, leaving a too-disheartened Maddie and defeated Jazz in their wake. A cloud of dust sprang up from the ground when the two dropping bodies finally hit the ground…hard. Sam and Tucker arrived only a few seconds, later, the dust still clearing from the landing.

"DANNY!" Sam screeched, seeing his body lying there, in an extremely unnatural position. She rushed up and held his head in her hands. Any minor hope that he would be alive for them to exchange a few last, emotional goodbyes was dashed. He was ghostly pale. Deathly white. He was gone.

Vlad looked all the worse for wear, himself having hit the ground just as hard, being unable to phase because of the rope. But Sam felt neither sorrow nor pity for him. He was dead. And he deserved it.

A lone tear suddenly dropped onto Danny's face. It was only then that Sam realized that she was crying. Tucker made his way up next to her, treading softly, as though on sacred ground. When he kneeled next to her, she saw that he, too, was weeping openly.

"Oh my God…Danny," he whispered, staring at his best friend's body.

"Tucker!" she cried, leaning into him. Tucker held her close and rubbed her back gently, shushing and comforting her, though, in reality, he was doing so as much for his own sake.

"He loved you, Sam," Tucker said, not elaborating any further, knowing that she would put it all together and discover who she was supposed to be on a date with tonight.

"I know," she whispered painfully. Nothing hurt worse than the knowledge that he had loved her. Now, he was gone and their love would never be able to blossom and grow. It would remain an ever-static memory of feeling.

Tucker had promised that her blind date would not break her heart.

But he had broken it far beyond repair.

And Tucker would never be able to find enough ice cream the world over to fill that empty space inside of her…

**I made up that ending on the spot. Hopefully it doesn't interrupt the flow too much...let me know if it does. If anything bothers you about this (and I'm sure something does...I haven't written for DP sincerely in ages), leave me a review and let me know. I want Devianta to be as happy as possible with her birthday present. :) Thanks for reading.**


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